One player said, "I don't get it," and another said, "It doesn't matter. No one wants to come here anyway."

The move has been criticized on fan Web sites, as it probably means fans - like the one who tried to join in an interview with Riley before the game - have no major trade to look forward to. Riley, who previously said the team was looking to add a "star player," had his wording amended to a "quality player" because of the transaction.

Claxton's $5.2 million expiring contract was one of the Warriors' most attractive trade chips. His contract, grouped with those of Raja Bell and Devean George, had given the team about $12 million in expiring contracts. Those expiring contracts could have been packaged with another player or players to fetch a player in the $20 million range.

"That excess has gotten me no offers that I want to take, and I've been down the road of that salary range," Riley said. "I've been down it with several teams, targeting guys in that range. We did all of the research, weighed the whole thing out and made the decision to go in this direction."

Riley said the team is instead targeting players with salaries between $10 million and $14 million. Though he didn't discuss names, saying only the team wanted to get "bigger," that price could point to Caron Butler, Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala, Al Jefferson or Tayshaun Prince - all of whom are being shopped.

Riley believes, after talking to all but two opposing teams, that he would have to include another existing piece of the roster, along with the expiring contracts, to draw a player of that caliber.

He said Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry are not going to be traded, but no other player is beyond trade exploration.

The Warriors also want to re-sign Anthony Morrow and maybe Bell, which would limit the type of player they could sign in the offseason. The luxury tax kicks in at $69.9 million, and it is expected to drop significantly next season.

Only between four and eight teams have been willing to pay the luxury tax over the past four seasons. Riley said the move should not be viewed as penny-pinching.

"We're looking to acquire a quality player, and if that would require us giving up expiring contracts and taking on some salary, we'll do that," Riley said. "We have to improve the quality of our team, and that's going to take some expense at some point."

The team fell into the decision when Tolliver's second and final 10-day contract expired Saturday. The Warriors wanted to keep the forward, but they already had 15 guaranteed contracts.

They worked to no avail with the league to try to find a loophole in the rules because of their injury woes. They could have cut George and his $1.6 million expiring contract, or Chris Hunter, whom they guaranteed last month, but they would have been eliminating a healthy player from the roster.

OK, that works in the short term. But does it make sense in the long run?

Riley voiced some concern that he was forced to make the move before the Feb. 18 trade deadline. Baron Davis came to the Warriors in a last-minute move, and Pau Gasol was traded from Memphis to the Lakers in what was viewed as a "panic" trade.

"Maybe we screwed up, but I don't think so," Riley said.

The Warriors would have had a chance to know for sure if they would have let Tolliver go and signed a different D-Leaguer to a 10-day contract. Tolliver has averaged 7.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in 25.2 minutes.

A career 37.1 percent three-point shooter in 55 career D-League games, Tolliver has made only 14.3 percent of his threes with the Warriors.

"I'm sure Riley knew what he was doing," coach Don Nelson said. "He might not know by now if he could do something with an expiring contract, but he would have a pretty good idea."